Safety Issues

 

Some of you might be wondering whether it’s safe to come to our area of Mexico. You could be a concerned parent, a prospective leader considering a mission trip, or a leader weighing whether or not to endorse your church's mission trip. The following information is statistically based and designed to help you assess the situation from a factual standpoint. It also provides a perspective from us as Long-Term Missionaries who live here year-round with our families.

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Safety Facts About Our Area of Mexico

 

• Our area of ministry is in a rural, agricultural setting with little or no safety issues. We are not in a large city but a farming valley made up of smaller communities.

• Your church group will stay in a very safe, gated, and fenced mission base where we live as missionaries. Your mission team will be well taken care of.

• We have an excellent relationship with the local police and city hall; they are always ready to help if needed. They always keep an eye out for us and patrol our area regularly. We’ve never had an issue, but they’re available just in case. In fact, they have sought out our ministry and have asked us to help them with the poor who come to them for food, clothing, blankets, housing needs, etc. It’s our pleasure to help them, and as a result, we have a special relationship with them. Please rest at peace, knowing you’ll enjoy the help of the local police if needed. Look at the videos to see more.

• Most of the issues in Mexico have occurred over 800 miles from our area and involve infighting among drug traffickers. They do not involve tourists or the common people.

• When comparing the murder rate per 100,000 in the larger cities in the U.S., you might be surprised to know what they are versus the larger cities of Mexico. New Orleans is the highest, with around 60 murders per 100,000, and the average, per other larger cities, is around 30 per 100,000. The border city of Tijuana (which you don’t drive through when coming to our area, but use a bypass freeway to go around it) is just 13 per 100,000. It's actually 3 times more dangerous to visit Washington, DC, than Mexico.

• The point of view from most of us who live in Mexico year-round is that things have improved over the past several decades. Unfortunately, only the bad news gets out, and the good news is unreported. Mexido is working hard to clean up Mexico. The government has changed all the border officials and hired new, young, college-educated people to take their place. As a result, there is now virtually no corruption and bribes accepted or allowed at the border crossings. You are treated professionally and with courtesy. There has also been a profound change among the police, and as a result, very few bribes or abuses are taking place in this area as well. The military also patrols the highways and provides security with checkpoints to help with this. In addition, a branch of the government called "National Guard" patrols the roads, offering help to travelers who break down or need assistance. Things are safe. 

• Most incidents mentioned in the media are isolated and mainly occur at night or in questionable areas. The newest U.S. Travel Update for Mexico says to use caution when going to Red Light Districts and recommends going to recognized tourist areas. Other than that, it is not telling folks to stay away from Mexico but to just use reasonable caution as with travel anywhere, even in the U.S.

• Contrary to what some might think, and the media portrays, there are no people with guns randomly shooting at vehicles as they drive by. Virtually every incident is drug-related and involves drug traffic infighting.

• The main highway you’ll be using on your drive down is the Baja Peninsula's primary (and only) highway. About 10,000 cars use this highway daily, and there have been virtually no incidents whatsoever.

• If Tijuana presents a problem, know that you will not enter Tijuana and will bypass the city altogether on a major freeway when driving south to our area. We use this freeway all the time and feel very safe. And once again, this freeway bypasses Tijuana, so there’s really nothing to worry about.

• If getting close to Tijuana is a problem, you can enter Mexico east of San Diego via Tecate. The highway is #3 and connects to Ensenada. Tecate is a small border town with quiet and peaceful roads.

• Mexico is very concerned about its tourism and is patrolling all its highways with additional police and soldiers to ensure maximum safety. The area is also patrolled by the National Guard, who help tourists whose vehicles might break down and keep watch.

• It's also pertinent to say that some of the media attention has been sensational (as the media tends to do) and blown out of proportion.   

• A good case could be made based on events that happen in Southern California (or other places in the U.S.) that it's not safe to travel there. We are all accustomed to small risks in life, and coming to our area of Mexico is not a large risk.

• Several years ago, my folks visited us and brought their camper trailer. They were pulled over at one of the soldier checkpoints and thought they were going to have big problems. However, the soldiers recognized they had some loose lug nuts on one of their trailer tires. They quickly jacked up the trailer, tightened the lug nuts, and sent them on their way. Most people are very friendly and helpful in Mexico, even government officials.

• We've been hosting mission teams for 26 years (well over 500 total mission teams hosted) and have had no issues whatsoever. 

• We are long-term missionaries in our 26th year living here. We'll take good care of you. We'd let you know if we thought your lives were in danger or things were remotely out of hand.

• We can also provide references of recent team leaders who have currently been here if you’d like to talk with someone other than us.

• During your time with us in Mexico, someone from our ministry will always be with your team and act as your host.  

 

We Have God's Promises to Protect Us As We Serve Him

• We serve a big God who has our days numbered! We’re not going to die one minute earlier or later than He has determined for us. There’s no safer place to be than in His will doing His work!

• We can be in the safest place on earth, but if God plans to take us home, we won't escape God and avoid death. In the same way, we can be in the most dangerous place on earth, and if it's not our time to go, no force on earth will override God's perfect plan for us.

• We have the promises of Psalm 121, which talks about God's promise to protect and watch over us.

• We have the example of Saul, with the whole Israelite army, who tried to kill King David but was unable to do so because of God's protection over him.

• We have examples of how God protected the Apostle Paul as he shared the Gospel everywhere, and many tried to kill him but were unable to do so because of God's protection.

• Scripture is full of how God watches over His own and protects them. It's a fundamental truth of the Bible.

• God is actually greatly displeased when we don't trust Him and give way to fear.  Fear is Satan's greatest tool in stopping the spreading of the Gospel. Our lack of trust deeply displeases God and makes Him out to be a tiny God who is unable to protect us.

• God delights in our faith, and we grow in the Lord as we exercise it. On the contrary, we stay small, and our faith shrinks when we don't trust.

• Lastly, God says in 1 Timothy 1:7, “He hasn’t given us a spirit of fear (or of timidity), but of power, love, and self-discipline." It’s Satan who fills us with fear and scares us away from serving God. It's his favorite tool because it works so well. Fear has stopped more people from sharing their faith and serving God than anything else. God promises to be with us until the end of the age as we share the Gospel (Matt. 28:20). What a precious promise! God also says, “That if He is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). Not one hair of our head will fall to the ground without God knowing it. And if He watches over the birds of the air, how much more will He watch over us who are involved in a mission trip fulfilling the Great Commission of sharing the Gospel?  

 

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